Community members came out in droves at Office Depot on College Drive July 20, helping volunteers fill six school buses with more than $42,700 in school supplies for students in need.  Volunteers In Public Schools (VIPS) led the charge during the fourth annual WBRZ Stuff the Bus with School Supplies event, which was also sponsored by Raising Cane’s, Office Depot and St. Elizabeth’s Hospital.

Thousands of pencils, notebooks, backpacks and other supplies were donated by the community, and this week they are being distributed to schools throughout the East Baton Rouge Parish School System to help students who need them – just in time for the first day of school, August 10. 

The Dufrocq School and ARAMARK helped with the distribution, and many local businesses made donations, including: Abemarle, Cribbs Roofing, Gordon McKernan Law Firm, Home Furniture, Neighbors Federal Credit Union, Team Toyota, Turner Industries & Partners, United Healthcare-Gulf States Region, the University of Phoenix and more.  For instance, VIPS volunteers Pat LeDuff-Callister (pictured, inside the bus) and Eric Bright (standing) from United Healthcare helped unload donated supplies from buggies and organize them in boxes on a bus.  District school bus drivers donated their time and services, too. 

See the Stuff the Bus 2011 Photo Gallery